an
Obituary
for
sorry, tree
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grief takes time
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grief takes time
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This obituary gathers the small conversations I shared with a fallen tree over fifteen months. The conversation is shaped by a low-carbon intention: ash-like images and Times, a simple system font that leaves no additional trace on the earth.
Each fragment rests against another. Writing, stillness, breath and low-impact images drift together, forming an ecological relation that continues to shift.
The bold words open light openings. They offer small fragments of the conversations. This is not a linear story. It is an entanglement of moments between myself and sorry, tree - a record that keeps breathing, gently, within the relations we made.
sorry, tree,
an Indian Bean Tree (Catalpa bignonioides), aged 35–40, passed away on a rainy Saturday morning, October 19, 2024, in the quad at Goldsmiths, University of London.
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A long-standing resident of the quad, sorry, tree was admired for their large heart-shaped leaves, gentle shade, and resilience through seasons of confinement. They were an active member of the Goldsmiths community, providing shelter for birds, conversation for students, and quiet companionship for those who sought stillness amidst the noise of the city.
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They are remembered for their generosity and quiet strength. Even in their final month, they bore bean-shaped seed pods, continuing to protect their babies and nurture new life beneath the autumn rain. Their calm perseverance inspired many to reflect on coexistence, care and transformation.
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A funeral service was held on the evening of November 28, 2024, in the same quad where they once stood, led by Sohyun and Sunny. Friends, students and colleagues gathered in the dim light to honour their life. Chestnut cake, gingerbread and herbal tea were served and soil was exchanged by bare hands. The attendees’ soft humming echoed between the glass walls. The ceremony was less a farewell than an act of gratitude - a recognition that relation continues beyond form and that the body of sorry, tree remains in the living world.
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Following their service, portions of sorry, tree’s body were respectfully carried to the studio and wood workshop, where they continue to live through breathing. Their bark has been transformed into new skins and their branches remain intertwined with human breath and gesture.
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Preceded in death by countless urban trees lost to development and pollution, sorry, tree is survived by the soil that received them, the birds that continue to visit the quad and those who carry their memory through care and creation.
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It remains in the ground that held it, in the air that moved through its body, and in the small gestures of those who stayed close.
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Rest gently, sorry, tree. You taught us how to lie down and still be alive. Thank you.